Hometown Pride: Le Divorce

Le Divorce’s true weakness lies in its name. If you type “le divorce” into a Google search, you’re not going get a local indie band high up on the list. Instead, you’re going to get James Ivory’s 2003 mediocre manners comedy (starring Kate Hudson and Naomi Watts), Le Divorce. It would be safe to say that the band strays away from an association with this film, but it’s not clear.

What is clear is how the songs are reminiscent of the old indie ethic. Gritty 80’s and 90’s bands come to mind. The song “Take Me Down” combines the intensity of Dinosaur Jr. with the melodic meandering of Pavement. And if you keep listening, more audacious bands of that era come to mind. Bands that weren’t made up of virtuoso musicians, but seemed to know more about making good, heartfelt music than most jazz theory professors.

But nostalgia isn’t always good, and at times it can be annoying. It’s a death sentence when an indie band gets labeled as Pixies wannabes, and there are times when Le Divorce comes dangerously close to this.

If you happen to like the castrated form that pop-rock is going toward, then you may in fact want the old ways of the underground to go away for good.

With Le Divorce, you’re not going to get the cutesy poppy-ness or the light melancholy sap-fests associated with modern independent rock.

Instead, things are going to get loud, distorted, obnoxious, and at times, ugly. Sure, the lyricism may sometimes go into the realm of the “love lost” narrative, but the band doesn’t try to pour it down your throat smoothly.

But the proof isn’t always in the pudding. Le Divorce has yet to release anything but demos, and like all demos, they are cheaply recorded and don’t do the band justice. If it’s too hard to listen to, then go to a music store and buy the band a recording interface, some microphones, and a copy of Pro Tools. It costs a lot of money, right? Then quit whining about upstart bands that make bad recordings.

Instead, it may be worthwhile to whine about how the band name reminds you of the time you wasted $10 to see Kate Hudson banally joke about relationships. Seeing the band Le Divorce should quell any flashbacks, but it’s not guaranteed. 

Le Divorce
9 p.m., March 5, Hi-Dive
myspace.com/ledivorceband
 

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2 comments

Anonymous

Fri Mar 5 2010 06:26

WTF? I can't do a post on this thread?

Le D

Fri Mar 5 2010 03:18

While the members of Le D would like to say thank you for the article, we are a little confused. We didn't get the impression that the author had actually been to see a show. Perhaps if he had, he might have seen that we are a bit more than a Pixies rip off (although the same could be said of Nirvana, PJ Harvey, and Radiohead). Also he failed to mention that we are made up of members of some well known Denver bands including Everything Absent or Distorted, Boba Fett and the Americans, Die Pilot, and Andrea Ball. Also, we just opened for The Swayback and Dust On The Breakers at the Bluebird theater and we have an EP set to be released in late April (we promise much better quality than the demos). The part he did get right is that we are playing at the Hi-Dive, Friday March 5th with A Sunny Day in Glasgow and Fellow Citizens. It should be a great show, hope to see you guys there, maybe you can hear what we actually do sound like. As for our name, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

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